Rent Board Seeks Subpoena Power

The Santa Monica City Council has approved on first reading an addition to the city code making it a misdemeanor to ignore a subpoena from the Rent Control Board.

Members of the board, which has the right to subpoena witnesses in rent-related cases, have complained that the board has been unable to compel witnesses to testify and that its subpoenas were being disregarded by some recipients.

The proposal, slated for final approval at the council's Jan. 14 meeting, would also increase hourly fees and mileage expenses paid to witnesses subpoenaed by city boards and commissions to equal those provided by the state. Witnesses will be paid $4.50 an hour, up to a maximum of $35 a day, and 20 cents a mile to and from Santa Monica.